It is known that nerve fiber is endowed with a great ability for regeneration provided that the cellular bodies of the neurons have not degenerated or been destroyed. This physiological phenomenon of axonal regeneration aims at making possible a resumption of functional activity. However, this regeneration is relatively slow, and, considering the length of the segment to be regenerated, the functional recovery can take one to several years depending on the nature of the injured nerve.
Among disorders of the nervous system, neuropathies having axonal degeneration, by their frequency, represent a major cause of suffering and disability in the world, which explains why many attempts have been made to speed up the regrowth of the nerves. Various agents have been used for this purpose with varied successes, but most often have turned out to be toxic in the doses that make it possible to obtain a positive action on nerve growth.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,289,597, in particular addition 83.555 and French Pat. No. 1,363,948, show the physical constants and methods of preparing N,N-2-diethylaminoethyl-tetrahydro-alpha-(1-naphthylmethyl)-2-furanpropano ate represented by the formula ##STR1##
Further, special medicine Pat. No. 3.843M, discloses that N,N-2-diethylaminoethyl-tetrahydro-alpha-(1-naphthylmethyl)-2-furanpropano ate, commonly designated "Naftidrofuryl," and its salts of organic or inorganic acids are endowed with antispasmodic and vasodilative properties. Of these compounds, "Naftidrofuryl" oxalate constitutes the active ingredient of medicines used in human medicine for their vasodilative action.
Naftidrofuryl has been the subject of a large number of scientific works in various countries for about twenty years; it is also known as an activator of the metabolism of glucose in the cerebral cell and as a cerebral vasodilator. Recent studies (S. Kobayashi et al. Arzneimittel Forschung 34, 1984, pp. (1580-1583) have shown its faborable effect on cerebral circulation after acute cerebral infarctus. Naftidrofuryl improves the regional cerebral flow in the ischemic cerebral zones. The treatment of venous ulcers with Naftidrofuryl was studied at the Regional Hospital Center of Reims, J. Mal. Vasc. (France), 1984, 9 (2) pp. 133-6, and the effectiveness of Naftidrofurylin on the occlusion of the arteries was checked by U. Maass et al, Medizinische Hochschule Hanover, Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr (F.R.G.) May 11, 1984, 109, pp. 745-50, and by Trubestein G. et al, Angiology (U.S.) Nov. 1984, 35, pp. 701-8.